Controversial Western Bulldogs star Jason Akermanis believes he can continue to combine media commitments with his AFL career, despite his club's contrary view.
Akermanis was meeting with Bulldogs representatives on Tuesday, who are believed to have asked the 33-year-old to choose between continuing his media work or playing on.
But the former Brisbane triple-premiership player used his regular morning spot on Melbourne radio station MTR to say he did not want to back down on either count.
"I am here because I am a contracted employee of this station and I am a contracted footballer and it doesn't affect my football," Akermanis said on MTR on Tuesday.
"I go after this (media work) and I go and play football. So those issues will have to be sorted out today. Apparently there's a deadline today so I have to go and talk to them.
"I'll be here tomorrow, I'm contracted to work here tomorrow."
Akermanis, who took a pay cut from the Bulldogs this season on the understanding he would supplement his income through his media work, said there was no reason he could not handle both.
"I can do this (radio) as well (as football), I can do columns, I've been doing that for years, there's nothing out of the ordinary there," he said.
"Getting my form back is all in front of me, I have to play a lot better than I have been."
Richmond star Ben Cousins said if it came to the crunch, the out-of-form Bulldog would be "crazy" to walk away from the game.
"He would be crazy to walk away from football purely because of the opportunity that playing in the Western Bulldogs side can present itself," Cousins said on radio station Nova FM.
"They can be heavily involved in the finals, win a premiership possibly, it is too big an opportunity to pass up. The media will always be there for him."
Cousins said he personally enjoyed the fact that the focus on Akermanis meant he was getting less scrutiny.
"Pass the baton over. He is a nice little heat deflector. I know how he feels."
The current Akermanis controversy stems from a column he wrote in Melbourne's Herald-Sun, in which he said gay AFL players should stay in the closet.
After a heated public reaction, Akermanis initially claimed the newspaper had altered his column, before eventually acknowledging it was his own work, an admission the club was angry he had not made earlier.
Akermanis joined the Bulldogs in late 2006, traded away by the Lions after they also tired of his off-field controversies.
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